New to Upwork and facing challenge of landing my first job. Advice/help is greatly appreciated!

[omar_rawi]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to Upwork. Created my profile some months ago, and have since applied to and submitted around 50 proposals. I've gotten a couple of bites but no interviews and have not landed any jobs yet. I feel that my area of expertise is a bit broad, and unfortunately don't have any portfolio work examples to post as I used to work in consulting, and all examples of previous work are proprietary. I'm trying to get my foot through the door, and hoping that by landing the first couple of jobs, this will build momentum and will make it easier to land more. I would greatly appreciate if someone could take a look at my profile and let me know if they have any feedback or advice on how I can write better proposals. One other thing to note is that I've submitted a number of proposals at a higher hourly rate $150/hr, then brought it down to $100/hr and now brought it down to $50 / hr to experiment. Again, I greatly appreciate your feedback and help.

Thanks,

Omar

[petra_r]

To be honest, the second I see a profile with a wall of text in the third person, my eyes roll to the back of my head and I move on. Unless you're Queen Elizabeth the Second or Julius Caesar, don't talk about yourself in the 3rd person. That went out of fashion in the 90s.

Your overview is hard to read, sounds remote, unapproachable and impersonal, and does not highlight your unique selling points.

I don't think your price-point is necessarily the issue, your approach is.

Also, in a list of proposals or search results, clients only see the first line or two. You waste that prime real estate telling clients what they already know (your name and where you're from and what you do, all of which is already on your profile.)

Use those first 2 lines telling clients what you bring to the table.

Rewrite your entire overview in a client-centric way in the first person. Your profile is not a resume. It is an advertising space. Don't waste it talking about yourself for the sake of talking about yourself, use it to make clients understand why they need you and what you have to offer.

[omar_rawi]

Thank you very much for the feedback. This is very useful and I will rework my profile accordingly.

Are you able to see any of the proposals I’ve submitted, and if so, would you mind providing feedback on those?

Does it hurt me to not be able to have any content in the portfolio section?

Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate your help!

[petra_r]

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Omar R wrote:

Are you able to see any of the proposals I’ve submitted, and if so, would you mind providing feedback on those?

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Hi, no, I'm not, I'm just a fellow freelancer 🙂

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Omar R wrote:
Does it hurt me to not be able to have any content in the portfolio section?

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I guess it's difficult to have meaningful portfolio items in your line of work unless you want to create some case studies maybe?

[omar_rawi]

I agree. It’s difficult. Maybe i will prepare case studies for that section.

You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thank you again. I’ll restrategize and give it another rework

Thank you !

[m_sharman]

Hi Omar,

I glanced at your profile and it reminds me a bit of my background.

My personal experience on Upwork has been management consulting type gigs aren't really found here. I pivoted into business planning and writing. There are many small business owners and entrenpeneurs who are seeking your level of business expertise, however as Petra advised, you'll need to edit your profile and think more SEO.

One way to achieve this is by adding search terms that match jobs you are interested in applying to. This doesn't mean you will get these jobs, it just will help clients see your profile when they are searching.

I'm sure Petra will respond, but we can't see what you have applied to, only you can.

With proposals, I tend to keep it very short. It's a different approach than when you are interviewing for a full time job. Many of these clients are looking to move quickly and hire someone who can solve their business need.

[omar_rawi]

Great point. Thank you.

You’ve both given me a lot to think about and I will restrategize and rework things accordingly.

My proposals have been short-ish with emphasis on my approach to solving the client problem and highlighting a case study of something similar I’ve done.

Hopefully this approach is a good one. As for management consulting, I agree. I’m finding a lot of business planning and project management jobs. I think I need to highlight more specialized skills.

Thanks again. I really appreciate it ! Any and all additional feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

Happy holidays to all !

[joansands]

Omar - It is the rare person who is going to take the time required to plow through your very dense profile that looks like it was written by someone else and not you. You have got everything in it but the kitchen sink and most people are not going to read past the first two lines of a profile.

[omar_rawi]

Thank you for the feedback! Will definitely rework the profile accordingly !